News

The Department of Pathology is thrilled to welcome our incoming class of fellows for 2026-2027. The following individuals joined our team on July 1:

Two Heersink School of Medicine faculty members have graduated from prestigious medicine leadership fellowship programs offered by Drexel University College of Medicine. Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology, has graduated from the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program.

The UAB Medicine Leadership Development Office (LDO) is proud to honor the latest graduates of the Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) — 24 accomplished professionals who represent the breadth and strength of our institution.

The Department of Pathology is thrilled to welcome three new faculty members, effective July 1. Gopal Kumar, M.D., joins the Division of Anatomic Pathology as an assistant professor, Song Lu, Ph.D., MLS(ASCP)CM, DABCC, FCACB joins the Division of Laboratory Medicine as an assistant professor, and Meghan White, M.D., joins the Division of Women’s Health as an assistant professor.

The UAB Department of Pathology has been strategically planning its digital pathology effort since well before its initial launch in 2024, but what is digital pathology? And why is this new initiative so important?

Marisa Marques, M.D., a professor emeritus in the Division of Laboratory Medicine, retired from the department on July 31, 2023, after 30 years of service.

The Department of Pathology is home to the Pathology Learning Resource, a web-based educational portal developed by the Division of Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics. This platform houses an expanding collection of high-quality educational videos designed to support training and professional development in modern pathology practice.

John Choi, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Laboratory Medicine and director of the Flow Cytometry Laboratory, is retiring from the Department of Pathology, effective June 30, 2026.

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce the establishment of a dedicated Head and Neck Pathology Fellowship Program within its Surgical Pathology Fellowship Program. The fellowship will welcome its inaugural fellow in July 2026 and represents an exciting expansion of subspecialty pathology training opportunities at UAB.

Members of the UAB Department of Pathology gathered for an outgoing reception for residents and fellows on June 5. Faculty, staff, and trainees came together to celebrate at the Marnix E.

This spring, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees awarded the rank of Distinguished Professor to nine faculty members and the rank of University Professor to five faculty members.

On June 4, the Department of Pathology hosted its ninth annual C. Bruce Alexander Lecture in Pathology Education featuring Samuel Borak, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Community Practice Pathology Program. Borak delivered the lecture "Academic medicine in the community practice setting and the ever changing landscape of pathology."

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Diabetes Research Center (DRC) has named six recipients of the 2026 Pilot and Feasibility Grant Program, which identifies and supports new outstanding and innovative diabetes research projects at UAB.

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce a new faculty member joining our team, effective June 1.

The UAB Department of Pathology is thrilled to announce a new faculty member joining our team, effective June 1.

The UAB Department of Pathology recently funded travel awards to three trainees, who will present their research at national meetings this year.

Li’an Williams, a Medical Scientist Training Program student in the laboratory of Lalita Shevde-Samant, Ph.D., Endowed Professor in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, was recently named a recipient of the 2026 O’Neal NextGen Scholar Award.

Members of the UAB Department of Pathology attended a department wellness outing at Oak Mountain State Park on Saturday, May 16. Colleagues, alongside their families, enjoyed one another's company over an outdoor picnic. 

Shi Wei, M.D., Ph.D., Hazel Gore, M.B.B.S., Endowed Professor in Women’s Health and director of the Division of Women’s Health, was recently recognized by Wiley for his 2024 article “Best practices for achieving consensus in HER2-low expression in breast cancer: current perspectives from practicing pathologists” as a top viewed article in the journal Histopathology.

Roy Kracke, M.D., helped lay the foundation for what would become the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers.

This month, we’re spotlighting Md Saimoon Rahman, a graduate student from Bangladesh who is working on his thesis in the Wende Lab in the UAB Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor in humans, with an average survival of approximately 15 months despite current treatment options. A major barrier to effective treatment is the highly invasive nature of glioblastoma cells, which infiltrate the surrounding brain and drive tumor formation.

Camilla Margaroli Bell, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, and Taru Dutt, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Division of Laboratory Medicine, recently received funding from Insmed for their project, titled, “Microbial determinants and host signatures enable early risk stratification in non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD)”.

For the first time in its history, the UAB Department of Pathology is leading three of the most prestigious pathology organizations- all at one time.

Jianhua Zhang, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, recently received a Heersink School of Medicine Bridge Funding Award. This program aims to improve the success of research faculty experiencing gaps in funding by providing continuing research support.

The UAB Department of Pathology is pleased to announce a new faculty member joining our team, effective May 4.

Casey Weaver, M.D., Leonard H. Robinson Endowed Chair in Pathology and professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology, was named Distinguished Professor in Pathology by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees on April 29.

Two faculty members in the Department of Pathology are recipients of the UAB Presidential Bridge Funding Award. This program aims to sustain research continuity, retain talent, and provide strategic support to faculty during transitions in federal funding cycles, administrative delays, or evolving research priorities.

 Bmal1 has been revealed as an unexpected driver of diabetic vascular calcification, linking circadian signaling to arterial stiffening and cardiovascular risk and opening new therapeutic avenues.

Paul Benson, M.D., Autopsy Section Head and professor in the Division of Anatomic Pathology and Nicholas Eisele, D.O., PGY2, Chief Resident of Education and Outreach, were recipients of the 2026 pilot award from the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health.